MIAMI (AP) A Florida appeals court has ruled Major League Baseball can take a deposition from a cousin of Alex Rodriguez as part of the sport's lawsuit involving banned substances.
The 3rd District Court of Appeal in Miami ruled 3-0 Wednesday that A-Rod's cousin, Yuri Sucart, and another witness must submit to the depositions. The court rejected arguments that MLB's case against Biogenesis of America and others belonged in federal rather than state court.
MLB claims that Biogenesis violated its agreements with players by providing them with banned performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez denies using banned substances and the players' union filed a grievance to overturn his 211-game suspension, a case pending before an arbitrator. Thirteen players accepted suspensions of 50-to-65 games.
After Rodriguez in 2009 admitted using PEDs from 2001-03 while with Texas, media reports said Sucart obtained the substances for A-Rod.
Rodriguez has sued MLB over its investigation.
Judge Thomas Logue wrote the opinion after hearing the case with Judges Linda Ann Wells and Kevin Emas.
